The European Tour is "fighting to save the World Matchplay Championship" after Volvo, the circuit's oldest sponsor, revealed it was "withdrawing its backing for the famous event," according to James Corrigan of the London TELEGRAPH. The news comes as a "huge blow to the Tour, particularly as Volvo is also pulling out of the Champions tournament," which since '11 has kick-started the year. While the loss of that $4M event would be "keenly felt," the demise of the matchplay would be of "wider concern and that is why the Tour and the promoters IMG have vowed to bankroll the event for at least one year." IMG Global Head of Golf Guy Kinnings said, "IMG and the European Tour are committed to running the championship in 2015 and talks are already under way with interested parties regarding the position of title sponsor." Volvo said that it is "focusing more on customer golf" but will "extend its
sponsorship of the China Open by five years." The problem facing the Tour is
"not backers in Asia but in continental Europe and the British Isles, where
the schedule has been decimated since the economic crisis" (TELEGRAPH, 10/8).
